26/08/2010
NEWS STORY
Qatar is hoping to join middle-east neighbours Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in hosting a round of the Formula One World Championship.
The Losail International Circuit, which has hosted Qatar's round of the MotoGP series since 2004, is being upgraded in order that it can be homologated as a Formula One circuit.
"Hosting a Formula One race is definitely in the strategic plan for Qatar, Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, president of Qatar's Motor and Motorcycling Federation (QMMF), told the Gulf Weekly newspaper. "We have a great track and we are currently working on upgrading it to official specifications.
"We have already covered the standard requirements and we are three quarters through the project," he added. "We just have some minor changes and modifications to make."
Built in just one year, at a cost of £37.3m ($58m), the Losail circuit has previously hosted rounds of the GP2 Asia series and the ill-fated Grand Prix Masters.